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Saturday, February 8, 2014

Let's talk about Sax

Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, died this week 120 years ago in 1894. Sax was born in Dinant, Belgium in 1814 and later moved to Paris where he patented the first saxophone in 1846.

Photo by John Weaver

The saxophone has to be one of my favorite instruments.

There are the saxophone greats, like John Coltrane and Stan Getz, whose music is as good today as it was when they made it. And without the sax we would never have had Big Band, which, with its catchy swing and style, can still bring you dancing back to another era.

I’m happy to report that in Belgium the sax is still going strong. There’s a new generation of young sax cats (see below) that are killing it and giving new life to an instrument that will never get old.

Who’s your favorite saxophonist? Do you know any other young talents (in Belgium or anywhere else)? Let me know in the comments.

A new generation of Belgian saxophonists

BLOW – sax dance trio & anonymous street musicians. I first saw these guys in Leuven a couple of years ago.

Here are a few pieces that always do it for me:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztVT1_8ZmDYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvRkGglLe-Uhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJ_4vSruoghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13L6sjk080chttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy_BVBTwu7o

Cheers man! These are great links. I'm going to check all these guys out s'more. I like Henderson, Dolphy and Sanders most, but they're all excellent. Also added Fela Kuti to my fave list. Remember seeing Femi in Copley Sq.? Great show - I saw him again in Leuven a few years ago.